This invention relates to a vibrating device for use in sand control and formation stimulation in an oil and gas recovery operation.
Many oil and gas downhole recovery operations, especially high-rate, high-permeability completions, produce reservoir fluids that contain fines, or formation sand. Therefore, support and screening devices, such as screens, slotted liners, and the like, have been utilized to support gravel packs, or the like, in the well to stabilize the formation while permitting the recovered fluids to pass from the formation into the wellbore while preventing passage of fines or formation sand with the recovered fluids.
These support devices are often placed in a pressure-drop zone that subjects the devices to contamination from scaling (salt crystal growth) and other materials that are precipitated during production of the reservoir fluids (hereinafter collectively referred to as “scale”). Thus, the scale must be removed from the devices either mechanically, which adds to the labor and cost of the project, or chemically, which may harm the metal parts of the devices. Also, during the recovery operation from the wellbore, a “skin” develops around the wall of the wellbore that impedes the flow of fluid from the formation thus requiring techniques to remove the skin.
Therefore, what is needed is a device of the above type that simultaneously performs the above screening as well as the scale and skin removal functions, yet eliminates the above problems.